The World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition of mental health includes that, “It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in.” The definition further reminds us that it “is more than the absence of mental disorders.” As we examine the global mental health burden, we realise that mental health nurses are and will continue to be in demand. The big question is: Are we able to fill that demand?
As we continue to empower and expand our profession, the onus also lies with us as nurses to make an impact from within. It is from this viewpoint that I applaud the efforts of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) to lead the charge on mental health nursing and the way forward. In October 2022, ICN released the Global Mental Health Nursing Workforce report, which discussed the importance of needed and essential changes to facilitate the adequate delivery of mental health services, especially considering the predicted increase in mental health burden globally. The report went on to highlight the disparity in mental health nursing across all global regions. It is critical to note that the report covers several other areas regarding mental health nursing, including a conceptual definition, retention, and prescriptive authority for advanced practice.
As a follow-up from the mental health nursing report, ICN recently created the Guidelines on Mental Health Nursing. The guidelines were carefully developed to address several areas, not just those shared in the report. The guidelines were officially launched on 6 March 2024 during a webinar. ICN President Dr. Pamela Cipriano chaired the session which included presentations from global mental health experts, including Michelle Funk from the WHO and Charlene Sunkel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Global Mental Health Peer Network.
The 500+ participants also heard a summarised version of the guidelines presented by two of its authors, David Stewart, ICN’s Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, and Professor Madeline A. Naegle. The six chapters of the guidelines included the urgent need to invest in mental health nursing, prepare the nursing workforce with mental health education, and establish professional global standards for mental health nurses.
It was my privilege and honor to have been invited to contribute to the report, the guidelines, and the launch. We may often doubt our ability to have an impact, especially if we think the contribution is small. However, one of the important lessons I’ve learned from Sigma is to always keep doing my part, whether individually or collectively, to empower nurses everywhere to transform healthcare globally. Here are a few of my key takeaways from the webinar:
- The global burden of mental health continues to increase, and there is a predicated increase in mental health diagnoses. Many individuals needing mental healthcare are not able to access these services due to inadequacy.
- Despite the disparity across countries, mental health nurses continue to be in demand. We need established hours for mental health nursing in undergraduate education and better utilisation of advanced practice mental health nurses.
- Countries (governments, ministries of health, national nursing associations, schools of nursing) will need to work together to focus on mental health nursing as a needed response for continuity and accessibility of services.
If you have not yet done so, please try to read and share both the report and the guidelines. The report, guidelines, and webinar are readily available to review as we work towards the future of mental health nursing and mental healthcare we would like to see. Mental health is a part of holistic care and impacts on our care delivery directly or indirectly. I close with a reminder from the WHO: “Mental health is a basic human right.” Though we may be separated geographically, mental health has no boundaries. It really is the time for proactivity instead of reactivity.
Sheryl Garriques-Lloyd, MSN, BSN, is a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Kingston, Jamaica. She is also Sigma’s Latin America & Caribbean Regional Coordinator and a member of Omega Kappa Chapter.